1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable pencil sharpener being electrically powered and designed primarily, but not necessarily exclusively for the sharpening of cosmetic pencils used in the applying of facial make-up.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sharpening devices used to sharpen points onto writing pencils have been in use and known for many years. Such prior art devices vary from relatively simple hand-manipulated sharpeners to relatively complicated, more sophisticated electrically-powered devices. The powered pencil sharpeners are known to be powered both from a conventional A.C. electrical power supply, as a wall outlet or alternately by batteries.
While each of the aforementioned types of sharpening devices are applicable for a common writing pencil, regardless of the softness of the writing material core, such is not necessarily true for cosmetic pencils of the type conventionally used to apply facial make-up. Typically, cosmetic pencils have a much softer material central core running along the length thereof. It has been found therefore, that manually operated sharpening devices, almost regardless of their configuration or structure, still have a tendency to break or rapidly deteriorate the points on such cosmetic pencils during the sharpening process. To the contrary, it has been found that "powered" sharpening assemblies have a "smoother" operation and frequently sharpen such cosmetic pencils to a point without as much breakage. Naturally, most prior art powered sharpening assemblies or "pencil sharpeners" are not adequately structured in terms of configuration, dimension, etc. to carry in an average cosmetic case or the like.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,798 to Luttgens discloses a sharpener specifically for cosmetic sticks as well as other types of "writing sticks". The structure disclosed in this patent, however, is clearly manually operated and is absent any power drive mechanism. Accordingly, while it is presumed the structure disclosed therein is applicable for its intended function, there is a question as to whether such a sharpening device would have the same problems regarding easy breakage of the relatively soft core of a cosmetic pencil even in light of the allegations made in this patent.
Additional prior art devices which are "electrically powered" but driven by batteries carried with the housing of the subject sharpening assemblies are taught in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,004,522; to Kent, Buc, 3,889,730 and Mabuchi, 4,050,487.
Even in light of the prior art devices well known in the industry and of the type disclosed in the above set forth patents, there is still a need for a pencil sharpening device which is light-weight, portable, not powered by batteries yet electrically powered from a conventional source which is readily carryable by the user thereof without the need of an accompanying electric cord and plug used to fit conventional wall outlets.